No doubt you have far more important things to do than scrutinize your company's phone bill every month. But that's the fastest and easiest way to tell if you've been "slammed," meaning your phone carrier - most often your long-distance carrier - has been switched without your authorization. And just as your home phone number can get slammed, so can that of your business.

Slamming is a costly nuisance because victims usually aren't aware of the switch until their phone bill arrives, typically with much higher per-minute charges. It's also illegal. The Federal Communications Commission names slamming as the single largest source of complaints over the last several years.

On Nov. 28, 2000, the FCC announced that the revised telephone slamming liability rules adopted in April would become effective. Essentially, the new rules take the profit out of slamming for telephone companies. They also offer the option of moving slamming disputes out of the FCC's hands and to the state level.

What to do if you discover you've been slammed

Call the slammer. Call the slamming company and tell them you want the problem fixed. Then, call your authorized company and ask to be reinstated to your pre-slam calling plan. Also, tell them that you want all "change of carrier charges" (charges for switching companies) removed from your bill.

File a complaint. Part of the FCC's new ruling puts slamming dispute resolution in the hands of the states. As of December 2000, 33 states have "opted in" to handle slamming complaints. If your state has not opted in, you can still turn to the FCC.

For more information on which states have opted in and how to file a complaint, visit the FCC's Web site at http://www.fcc.gov/slamming/states.html.

How you will be compensated

If you have already paid your bill, you can be compensated. The slamming company must cover 150 percent of the charges you paid to your authorized company (the company you actually chose to provide your service). Of that, 50 percent will be reimbursed to you.

As illustrated in an example on the FCC's Web site, if you paid $100 in charges to the slammer, the slammer must pay $150 to the authorized company, $50 of which is returned directly to you.

If you've been billed but have not paid, you are not liable for any charges for up to 30 days after being slammed, either to your authorized company or the slammer.

How to avoid being slammed

Keep your eyes open. Contrary to popular belief, slamming doesn't happen just with the small, no-name companies you've never heard of. In April of this year, long-distance behemoth WorldCom agreed to pay a settlement of $3.5 million to the FCC for slamming practices. The FCC said WorldCom's 2,900 slamming complaints in 1999 made it the worst slamming offender of that year.

Put your company on a "do not call" list. Another side to the slamming coin is where it all begins - the telephone solicitations. This is where commission-hungry telemarketers just might decide to say that you have given permission to switch your service when you have not. Both businesses and residences can request that their numbers be put on a "do not call" list for unsolicited calls.

But be forewarned: defining the word "unsolicited" can be messy. With all of the mergers and buy-outs of telecommunications companies over the past couple of years, it's quite possible that the DSL line Telecom Firm X installed last year is provided by the same company that wants to offer you their long distance service.

You may not want Telecom Firm X's long distance, but because you already have a business relationship with the company, legally the calls they make to your business are not "unsolicited."

Talk to your authorized carrier. Making the physical switch is up to your local carrier, and some of these companies make it easier for you to avoid being slammed. Ameritech, for example, offers "slamming protection." Customers can call a special number to make sure no one switches their long-distance service without written consent from them. Call the customer service number on your bill to find out what your options are.

When it comes to slamming the slammers, the government is on your side.